Wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics Mission Systems | |
Industry | Robotics |
Founded | 1997 |
Headquarters | Quincy, Massachusetts |
Products |
Bluefin-21 Knifefish UUV |
Number of employees
|
200 (2014) |
Parent | General Dynamics Mission Systems (acquired 2016) |
Website | www.bluefinrobotics.com |
Footnotes / references |
Bluefin Robotics is an American robotics company, headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts, which specialises in the design and manufacture of military and civilian autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and related technology. The company was founded in 1997, and became a wholly owned subsidiary of Battelle Memorial Institute in 2005. Its products include the Bluefin-21 underwater search robot and its military derivative, the Knifefish minesweeping AUV, which is scheduled to enter service with the United States Navy in 2017. Bluefin has furthermore been involved in the development of several advanced Navy projects, including the Black Pearl AUV and the Proteus optionally-manned submersible.
Bluefin Robotics was founded in 1997 by a group of engineers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's AUV laboratory. In 2005, the company became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Battelle Memorial Institute, an Ohio-based nonprofit research and development company. In 2010, Bluefin Robotics won a gold award at the 7th Annual Team Massachusetts Economic Impact Awards, and in 2013 it received accolades from R&D Magazine and the Robotics Business Review. In April 2014, it received a US$7.11 million federal contract from the US Navy's Office of Naval Research for the development of the Navy's experimental Black Pearl AUV.
As of 2014[update], Bluefin Robotics employs around 200 people. The company is a member of several business and technology associations, including the Marine Technology Society (MTS), the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), the Mine Warfare Association (MINWARA), the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) and the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council (MassTLC).